


Lost and Found In Fire

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Campbells are Not Nice People, College Student Sam, Daily SPN Prompts, Fireman Dean, John Winchester Is Not a Nice Person Either, M/M, Tumblr: dailyspnprompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-15 19:25:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7235467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dean was four years old, his house burned down.  His mother and baby brother died in the fire.  His dad was traumatized, and became paranoid and restless.  Dean was traumatized, too, but his trauma manifested in an imaginary brother.  When Dean was old enough, he left his father and the nomadic lifestyle to become a firefighter.  Then he pulled this college boy out of a fire, and saw his driver's license.  Samuel Campbell, born May 2, 1983.  What were the chances?  The case haunted him, so he reached out to the kid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from Here: http://dailyspnprompts.tumblr.com/post/143194508817/t-wincest-oneshot  
> Tumblr: http://dailyspnprompts.tumblr.com/
> 
> Fireman!Dean, wincest au in which Sam accidentally sets his house on fire and Dean’s the one that saves him.

The call came in just after Dean had gotten to sleep. A burning house near the university campus, a neighborhood where a bunch of college kids lived. Of course it would be them – probably a wannabe frat party that had gotten a little out of hand.

When he got there, there was a crowd of people gathered around. Dean’s role on the crew was on the ladder, managing the smoke until enough backup had arrived to begin search and rescue. That was the part Dean loved most. He always hoped it was a relatively boring night, where everyone made it out on their own, but nothing gave him the job satisfaction that he got from knowing someone was alive because of him. Especially a kid. He’d saved two lives in his years on the force – an elderly woman who couldn’t get her wheelchair out, and a six year old girl who’d been locked in her room and couldn’t get out.

When Dean was four years old, his house had burned down. His mother had been trapped inside as she tried to rescue her younger son. His dad had never recovered from losing his wife, and Dean had never recovered from losing his baby brother. John’s trauma manifested as obsession, paranoia, and a restlessness that kept him on the move so frequently that Dean never spent more than two months at the same school. Dean’s trauma manifested at first as a refusal to talk, and then constantly talking to and about his brother Sammy. He’d never grown out of it, though he’d learned to hide it better. He still talked to Sammy every day.

“Got a person!” Dean shouted when he entered one of the bedrooms. “Sleeper.”

“Shit.” Benny backed up, heading for the door to call in a backup pair. Dean got the victim over his shoulders and headed out to the truck to begin emergency treatment.

Thankfully, the guy was still breathing. Where there’s breath, there’s hope, Dean’s trainer had drilled into him. Unfortunately, the guy wasn’t responsive, so there was probably a lot of smoke inhalation. The kid had fallen asleep while he was still dressed, and Dean was only a little surprised when he pulled a wallet out of his back pocket. Samuel Campbell, according to his license. Very close to his 21st birthday.

“Hey, kid. I know you got no reason to care, but if you don’t make it, I’m gonna track you down in the afterlife. Not only is it damned ungrateful to begin with, you share a name with my little brother, and my mom’s maiden name was Campbell. Lost them both to a fire, so maybe if I save you, I can pay them back a little. Man, wouldn’t that be weird, if you’re a cousin I didn’t know I had? I know Samuel was a family name. Don’t know if you can hear me, and you’ll probably forget anyway, but my name’s Dean Winchester and I’m a firefighter. I work out of the firehouse on Pine Street. Come find me when you’re back on your feet so I know you made it, you hear me? I’ll let them know you’re coming.” The EMTs arrived then, so Dean found Benny and went back to dealing with the fire.

 

When the fire was out and Dean was back at the station, he pulled out the picture. It was all he had of his baby brother. “Heya, Sammy. Think you’d be proud of your big brother today. I saved a kid’s life. He’d fallen asleep and his house went up, and I got him out while there was still a chance.”

Dean ran a finger over the blurred image of the baby in his younger self’s arms. “I miss you, Sammy. This kid, he was a lot like you. Samuel Campbell, which you’d have been if kids took their mother’s name instead of their dad’s. Born the same day. And you were such a smart baby. Given where he lived, he was probably a college boy. You’d have gone to college, too, I just know it. I didn’t, but you’d have been better than me. If you got Mom’s brains and Dad’s work ethic, you could’ve gone anywhere you wanted, Sammy.”

Dean paused, and then he laughed a little. “Yeah, I know. 20’s not really a kid anymore. I was in fireman training when I was 20. But you’d be 20, now, and you’re my kid brother. So I’m allowed to call him a kid.” He sighed and put the picture back under his pillow. “I miss you, Sammy.”


	2. Too Many Coincidences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haunted by the kid he pulled out of the fire, Dean drops by the hospital. Sam's awake and willing to talk to Dean.

In the morning, Dean was still thinking about the kid. Benny noticed Dean’s distraction, and at lunch, sat with him. “You okay, Dean?”

“Yeah, fine.” Dean took a giant bite of his ham sandwich. Benny didn’t seem ready to let it go, though. “Oh, what?”

“You got to be a hero last night.” Benny took a sip of coffee. “Kinda hits hard, the not knowin’ what happens to ‘em after you hand them off to the EMTs. So, you okay?”

Dean sighed and put down his sandwich. Benny was really good about looking out for Dean, even when Dean didn’t think he needed looking after. “This one hits a little harder than most, Benny. Kid had a lot in common with Sammy.”

Benny was one of the few people who knew just how important Sammy was to Dean. “Sorry to hear that. You gonna check up on him? Carmen’s hospital would’ve been closest, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Dean poked at his sandwich, trying to make himself hungry again. “Seems a little creepy, though. Kid doesn’t know me from Adam. Don’t want to freak him out by stalking him, not after what he’s been through.”

“Maybe a little. But he doesn’t have to even know you were there, if you just drop by to ask Carmen a couple questions.” Benny’s grin was working, and Dean picked up the sandwich.

 

Dean’s shift ended at 4, and by then, he’d convinced himself to swing by the hospital. He and Carmen Porter had met in EMT training. Carmen went on to become a nurse, while Dean went to the firehouse, but they kept up their friendship. By now, Dean knew exactly how far he could push Carmen, and Carmen had no problem telling Dean to shove off if he went too far. She’d give him what information she could.

“Fireman!” Carmen grinned when she heard Dean’s greeting. She shoved her paperwork aside. “Good timing, I’m out of here once I finish up with that. Let me guess – you’re here about the kid they brought in from the fire last night?”

“Yeah. He still here?”

“I think so. I’ll be right back.” Carmen got up and walked off. Dean watched which way she was going, twiddling his thumbs until she got back. “Yes, he’s here, he’s awake, he can have visitors, and I told him you were here and he said to send you back so he can say thank you. Don’t wear him out, Fireman.”

That was more than Dean was expecting. “Yes ma’am!” He saluted and followed her to the room. Once there, he pulled the chair over to the bed and took a seat. “Hey. I’m…”

“Dean.” The kid’s voice was a weak croak. He reached for the laptop sitting beside him and started typing furiously. He turned it to show Dean. “Thought you were a dream, the firefighter with the gall to tell me it’d be ungrateful to die. Didn’t catch a last name in the dream.”

“Winchester.” Kid’s smoke inhalation must’ve been bad. “So you heard that, huh?”

The kid nodded. “Yeah. Sorry about your brother. Glad you were there for me. Thank you.”

“Me too.” Dean groped for what to say next. “Where’d you get the computer? That standard hospital issue now?”

Sam tried to laugh, but it ended up in a coughing fit. “No. My roommate, Jessica, was at the library studying for a final. Her laptop’s in for repairs, so she took mine, but when she visited this morning she gave it back. I need it more than she does.”

“Roommate? Not girlfriend?”

For a long time, Sam just stared at Dean. Just when Dean was about to turn it into a joke, blow off the question, Sam started typing again. “We dated back in high school. She stayed with me after I told her I was gay because my grandfather would have killed me if I came out to him. Then he died, and we officially broke up, but by then we’d transitioned into a great friendship.”

“Nice. I’m glad she wasn’t hurt last night.” Dean looked at the screen again. “Your grandfather was a jerk about gays, I take it?”

Sam snorted. “You could say that. He threw some punches when he caught me doing research. Only reason he didn’t kick me out is because my English teacher covered for me. She told him it was a research assignment she’d given me and I was just doing my classwork.”

“Jesus. High school?”

“Sophomore year. I was fifteen.”

“No other family?” If not, this kid was alone in the world.

“Nope. Grandpa said my mom died in a fire and her worthless husband took off as soon as the insurance paid up. Mom was his only kid. If my father’s still out there somewhere, or he had family who could’ve taken me in, I don’t know.” A dreamy look crossed Sam’s face. “When I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend. Well, an imaginary brother. A big brother who would stand up for me and wouldn’t let Grandpa hit me.” He stopped typing and looked at Dean in surprise. “I’m named after Grandpa, so I named my brother after Grandma. When she was alive, she tried to protect me and took care of me. Her name was Deanna, so my brother was Dean.”

“Okay, this is getting weird.” Dean didn’t remember his mom’s parents at all, but he knew that he and Sammy had been named for them. “Do you know anything about your father?”

“Not much.” Sam thought for a bit before he continued typing. “Grandma told me a little bit about him once, when Grandpa wasn’t around. His name was John, but I don’t know a last name. He was a mechanic. Mom was crazy about him and his car. The car was black, but I don’t know what kind. Grandpa always muttered about keeping an eye out for that piece of crap black beast.”

Dean scooted to the edge of the chair. “Your mom – was her name Mary? And Campbell was her maiden name?”

“Yes,” Sam croaked aloud, staring at Dean in disbelief. He reached for the computer. “Grandpa changed my name to Campbell after my father abandoned me. Said that I belonged to the people who actually gave a damn about me.”

Dean took a deep breath. He hadn’t meant anything by his crack about them being cousins, but this had gotten too weird to ignore. “My dad’s a mechanic named John Winchester, who married a woman named Mary Campbell. My little brother Sammy and I were named after her parents. This is the car I grew up in.” Dean pulled out his wallet and opened it to a picture of his beloved Impala. “It’s not a piece of crap, but your grandpa’s dead, so I can’t kick his ass.”

Sam took the wallet, staring at the Impala for what seemed like hours. He was blinking back tears when he handed the wallet back and started typing. “You have a picture of your car in your wallet? Not your wife or girlfriend?”

Dean laughed. He kind of loved that the first thing Sam asked was about his bizarre relationship with his car. “My baby’s one of the two relationships I’ve ever had last more than six weeks. I’m not good at maintaining relationships. Her and my imaginary brother, Sammy.”

“We’ve got some really bizarre parallels, here, Dean. Grandpa and Grandma never told me anything about a real older brother, but they may have been trying to spare me? If my dad took my brother but left me?” Once Dean was done reading, Sam added, “Do you think we might be brothers?”

“It sounds impossible. Dad said Sammy didn’t make it out of the fire, like Mom. But…” Dean didn’t want to think it, but it was easier to believe than the mountain of coincidences piling up between him and the kid. “Maybe he lied to me. I’m gonna call him tonight, but there’s almost no chance I’ll get answers out of him. You got anyone you can call?”

Sam shook his head. “Grandpa and Grandma are dead, and I’m not on good terms with any of the more distant relations. They wouldn’t know anyway, most likely.”

“So you’re alone in the world.”

“Yeah. I mean, there’s Jess, and I have other friends. But no family.”


	3. Investigation: Sammy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean investigates and discovers the lies his father's told him all his life.

Dean had nine of the ten digits punched into his cell phone to call his dad when he changed his mind. Instead, he headed for the library, looking for newspaper articles from November 1983. There were a few about the fire. All mentioned that the mother died, that the father and older boy were treated and released. But the younger boy, an infant, was hospitalized in critical condition. Dean didn’t remember that, and he’d already caught his father in a lie.

The librarian was an older woman, probably in her late 50s, Dean thought. “Ma’am, have you been in Lawrence all your life?”

The librarian looked up from her work. “I moved here when I was a girl, and left for college, but other than that, yes. Why do you ask?”

“Do you remember this fire?” Dean pointed to the screen.

The librarian peered at it. “Oh, yes. My youngest was just about six months old then, the same age as the baby they had to put in the hospital, so I remember it well.”

“It says the baby was in critical condition. Do you know what happened to him?”

“Well, for a week or so, that father was devastated. Wife dead, one of his boys fighting for his life. He spent every moment he could at the hospital. But then, one day, he was just gone, him and the older boy. The baby’s grandfather arrived that same day, and when the baby was finally ready to go home, the grandfather took him.” The librarian shook her head. “Poor thing.”

Dean’s blood ran cold. “So the baby’s alive?”

“Lord, honey, that was twenty years ago. I didn’t like the looks of the grandfather.” The librarian noticed the fear in Dean’s eyes and patted his hand. “But I would guess he probably is out there somewhere.”

“Wow.” Dean stared at the article. He honestly didn’t know what else to say. Sammy, his Sammy, was probably alive. And just might be lying in a hospital bed not that far away.

The librarian smiled at him. “Is this for a school project?”

“No. I’m the older boy, the one who got out.” The librarian’s eyes went wide. “Dad told me my brother died, but I think I maybe just met him.”

 

John didn’t answer when Dean called him that night, so Dean left a message. He went back to the hospital the next day with a stuffed animal and the one photograph of Sammy he had. He’d never actually showed it to anyone before, but if this was his brother, he had the right. “Hey.”

Sam opened his laptop. “Hi.”

“You okay?” Dean looked the kid over. He sure didn’t look okay.

“Not really. Jess came by to bring me my work and today’s notes, but one of my professors is being an asshole. He’s gonna try to force me to take an incomplete instead of letting me work from here.”

Dean looked at the pile of books and papers and laughed. “Sorry, not laughing at your misfortune. That sucks. Think it’d do any good for me to go tell him off or kick his ass or both?”

Sam smiled as best he could. “Jess and Zach have it covered, but thank you.”

“What are brothers for?” Sam looked up sharply, and Dean pulled the printout of the article from his pocket. “I did some digging, and it turns out Dad lied to me. Or maybe someone lied to him, said Sammy was dead when he wasn’t. Either way, my little brother’s probably alive, and the woman I talked to said he left the hospital with – get this – his grandfather.”

Sam looked at the article. “More coincidences. So we might really be brothers.”

“Yep.” Dean chuckled. “Lost my brother in one fire, found him in another.”

“Well, that’s a little awkward, then.” Dean raised an eyebrow and Sam laughed weakly. “It’s traditional for someone who’s been rescued to fall in love with their dashing savior, you know.”

Dean grinned. “And you’re gay, so me being a dude wouldn’t prevent it. But if I’m your brother, yeah, little awkward there.”

“Just a little.” Sam waited a bit before adding on. “You’re okay with someone having a gay crush on you?”

Dean snorted. “I’m not an asshole, Sammy. Gay, straight, one of my coworkers has a kid who’s genderqueer and has a bit of a hero worship thing for me. Only way I get upset about it is if they’re pushy or gross about it.”

“Sammy?”

Dean ran a hand over his face. “It’s what we called you when you were a baby, and I’ve been calling you that for the last twenty years, talking to you in my imagination. If it bugs you, I’ll try to stop.”

Sam shook his head. “No, it’s kind of nice. I prefer Sam, but I don’t mind if you call me Sammy sometimes.”

 

That night, as Dean cleaned up from doing some maintenance on his car, his phone rang. “Dad? Hey!”

“Listen to me, son. Your brother’s dead. Been dead over twenty years. I don’t know who this kid you found is, but he is not Sammy.”

Dean shook his head. It was about what he’d expected. “Dad, it all fits. He even looks a little like you. I found…”

“An impostor. Why he’s doing this, I don’t know. Testing us, maybe.”

“Testing us?” Dean stared at the phone for a moment. “Testing us for what?”

John sighed. “Son, I never wanted you to have to know anything about your mother’s people. They are bad news. Serial killers, drug runners, bookies, prostitution rings, basically they’re American-grown mafia. Your mother turned her back on it when she married me. This kid may be one of the Campbells, but he is not your brother. Don’t get mixed up with him. I won’t protect you if you do. I can’t.”

Dean’s first instinct was to dismiss this as more of his dad’s paranoia. But then it occurred to him that if John was telling the truth now, then chances were good there was something to his rantings. Always has been. “What did you do, Dad? Did you do something when the fire happened?”

“I couldn’t…” John’s voice dropped to a whisper, full of pain. “I couldn’t save Sammy. So I did what I had to. To save you. To keep you from becoming a monster, too.”

“Dad?”

“Mary turned her back on her family, but they never forgot her. And they made sure that since Mary died, the insurance didn’t pay out on the fire. Made it look like arson. I don’t know, maybe it was arson. I wouldn’t put it past them to have set it to drive Mary back home.” John took a moment to compose himself. “And then, in swoops Samuel Campbell on his white horse. Says he’ll pay for the funeral, Sammy’s hospital bills, get me set up in a new town – if I’d give him you boys. I told him to go to hell, but in the end, it was let him have Sammy or let Sammy die while you starved. Samuel didn’t like that I took you and ran. He’s still hunting you.”

Dean latched on to the most important thing his father had said. “So this could, in fact, be Sammy.”

“He’s not your brother.” Grudgingly, John added, “He might have been born Samuel Winchester, I don’t know, but he’s not your Sammy.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this? Why didn’t you tell me Sammy might be out there somewhere?”

“Because you wouldn’t believe me. You’d still see the baby you loved so much. And you’d go looking. One way or another, you’d get mixed up with the Campbells, and it would’ve been all for nothing. Sammy is gone, Dean. He died when he was six months old. There’s no bringing him back – even if his body is still alive. I couldn’t lose you, too.”

Dean hung up without saying goodbye.


	4. Brothers with Weird Crushes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean gives Sam a chance to defend himself against John's charges. The longer Sam types, the more convinced Dean becomes that he's found someone he wants to keep in his life.

“Heya, Sammy.” Dean grinned at the sight of Sam surrounded by books.

Sam looked up and managed a giant smile. It looked like sunshine. “Dean!” He reached for his laptop. “How are you?”

“Good. Better day today?” Dean plopped down in the chair next to the bed.

“Couldn’t be much worse. But yeah, it’s been better. They’re happy with how I’m healing. I may be able to go home in closer to one week than two. Maybe I can even take my finals on campus instead of here!”

“My god you’re a nerd.” Sam laughed a little and started trying to clean up the mess around him. “Sam, can you tell me about the Campbells? Mom’s the only one I knew.”

Sam stared off into space, letting the papers slip from his hands. “I may not be able to talk about them for long. I’m supposed to avoid stress. The Campbells are kind of terrible people. But they’re your blood, so you have a right to know. I’ll try.”

Dean nodded. “Fair enough. Tap out whenever you need to.”

Sam typed for what seemed to be a long time, deleting and rewriting. When he was finished, he turned the laptop to Dean. “Grandpa – Samuel Campbell – was a real alpha male type. He tried to choose my classes, my sports, even where I went to school. I’ve got my own streak of stubborn, though, and I stood up to him. Grandma – Deanna Leighton Campbell – tried to make up for it by helping me learn things on my own. She’d take me to the library, or to classes at the youth center. Things _I_ liked. She died when I was fourteen, not long into my freshman year of high school. Things between me and Grandpa kind of went to hell after that. I ran away once. I got as far as Flagstaff for a month before Grandpa found me.”

“What did they do for a living?”

“Grandma was a housewife. Grandpa” Sam stopped typing. For a moment, Dean was afraid Sam wasn’t going to continue, or was going to lie. “Grandpa ran the family business. Organized crime. Think _Godfather_ , only not Italian. He was all about the family business. Hurting people, stealing things. Drugs, gambling, prostitution, all that stuff. I stayed out of it as much as I could get away with.”

“Mom was Grandpa’s only kid, right? So you and I are the only grandkids. Who took over when Grandpa died?” If it’s a family business, it should be inherited like one. But Dean couldn’t imagine his Sammy or the kid he’d been talking to running an organized crime syndicate.

Sam sighed. “They tried to make me, but I wanted nothing to do with it. So Christian Campbell’s in charge now. He was Grandpa’s favorite. I think he was Mom’s second cousin once removed? Grandpa wanted Mom to marry Christian,”

“They were cousins!” Distant, but still.

Sam smirked. “Samuel and Deanna were second cousins. It’s kind of a Campbell family tradition to keep the family together. Apparently we’re from Arkansas?”

Dean laughed. “Wow. The things you don’t wanna know, right?”

“Yeah. I came to Kansas to see if maybe I could track down my dad, find some family who didn’t suck.”

Dean couldn’t help himself. “No Campbells you wanted to marry, so you thought you’d check out your cousins on the other side?”

Sam stuck out his tongue at Dean. “I didn’t have much to go on. John is not a particularly useful name for tracking someone down.”

“Well, you found me. I’m pretty sure I don’t suck.” Sam smiled. “Dad sucks, though. He gave you up. He separated us.”

“I wish he hadn’t. Grandpa never even told me I had a brother. I really thought I invented you.”

Dean nodded. “I knew I hadn’t invented you, but I thought you were at best some kind of ghost or echo. I’m glad you did invent me.” He paused and screwed up his face. “That sounds kind of pathetic. I meant that I’m glad you invented someone who could do some of the things I should have but didn’t.”

Sam reached out and squeezed Dean’s hand. “It’s not your fault. You’d have found me if you’d known.”

“Yeah, doesn’t make it okay that you were alone.” Dean ran a hand over his face. “So, a week, they think? And then you’re out?”

Sam nodded. “That’s the current estimate. Seven to ten days if I keep making progress like I have been.”

“Got somewhere to go?”

“I’ve got friends. I’ll always have a couch to crash on. Don’t worry about me.”

Dean scoffed. “Not happening, Sammy. I got twenty years of worrying about you to make up for.”

Sam laughed. When the coughing was gone, he typed. “I guess that’s fair.”

“Anyway, look. I know we just met and all so this is… I got a spare room. You’ll probably have all kinds of medical crap to do so you don’t end up back here, not to mention going through finals and figuring out what you need to replace and how you’re gonna do that. You don’t need to be couch-surfing, too.” Dean bit his thumbnail and gave Sam a hopeful look.

Sam bit his lip as he typed. “Okay, not helping with the weird crush if you’re going to keep saving me, Dean.”

Dean laughed. Yeah, the weird crush was going to be a problem, and he knew it. Because his didn’t seem to be going anywhere. “Sounds like it’s a family tradition. But I mean it, I’d like you to come stay with me, at least for a while.”

Sam smirked at the reference to family tradition. “Sure, I’d appreciate that a lot. Like you said, I’m going to have a lot going on. Be nice if I could combine figuring out where to sleep with getting to know my brother.” Dean couldn’t help cracking up. Eventually, Sam caught on. “NOT WHAT I MEANT!”

“I know.” Dean caught his breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Even if it was, I wouldn’t let you. Anyone else tried taking advantage of my little brother like that, I’d kick their ass.”

Sam didn’t like that. “I’m a big boy, Dean. I know what the word no means and how to use it, and if someone needs their ass kicked, I can do it myself. Grandpa made sure of that.”

“Yeah, well. There’s scum out there who’d act like you owed them. Just to be clear – only thing you owe me for this is telling me when you want to move on. Got that?” Sam nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Campbell Family Tradition of Keeping Family Together is blatantly stolen from stormageddon and diana_lucifera's excellent Brother's Blood/Father's Gun 'verse. If you haven't read it, go read it. Yes, it's long, and it's not finished yet. IT'S WORTH IT.


	5. Meet John Winchester

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John shows up when Dean bring Sam home from the hospital. It goes about like you'd expect.

Sam was released nine days later. Dean visited every day he didn’t have to be at the firehouse and exchanged stories of growing up Winchester for stories of growing up Campbell. When he led Sam to the Impala, Sam stopped short. “That’s Dad’s car,” he said, voice still raspy from the healing burns.

“Mine, now.” Dean unlocked the trunk. “Dad gave her to me when I graduated fire training. Come on.”

Sam dropped the bag of stuff that he’d accumulated in the hospital in the trunk. As he walked toward the passenger seat, he kept a hand on it. Dean raised an eyebrow at him when he got in. “She feels like home. Dean, I should have grown up in this car.”

“Yeah, you should’ve.” Dean started her up. “You know much about cars?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “I know how to steal one and strip it for parts. I can identify a part that’s not working, but I don’t know how to make it work.”

Of course that’s what Sam would know. “Good job, Grandpa,” he muttered. “I’ll teach you, if you want.” Dean flipped on the radio, and Sam jumped at the volume of the blasting Zeppelin. Dean hurriedly turned it down. “Sorry! Forgot it was up that loud!”

Sam looked closer. “Cassette tapes? Wow. I got why Grandpa used them, but you?”

“Cheap and I like the way they sound.” Dean patted the cassette player fondly. “I buy most of them on eBay these days.”

“You pretty much have to. You know it’s 2004, right?” Sam shot him a grin, though.

“Keep up the sass and the volume’s going right back up.” Dean pointed at Sam, but he couldn’t help the return grin either. “Imaginary You was never a snarky little bitch like you.”

“Yeah? Well Imaginary You was never a jerk.”

 

When Dean turned onto his street, he swore under his breath. Sam looked at him in concern. “What?”

“See the black truck two houses down?” Dean pointed.

Sam squinted and nodded. “What about it?”

“You’re about to meet Dad. I didn’t say anything earlier, but when I called to ask about the possibility you might be alive, he came to the conclusion that you were a plant sent by the Campbells to try to draw me into their nefarious schemes.” Sam ducked his head laughing. “He’s really paranoid, and he’s going to be an asshole. Sorry.”

“Why’s he parked down there?” Sam asked.

“Like I said, paranoid. He never parks where he’s going, so that he can mislead our enemies.” Dean laughed at the look on Sam’s face. “My entire life, I thought he was just nuts. But now, I guess he means the Campbells?”

Sam scoffed. “Well, he can stop worrying. Theoretically. Samuel’s dead, I’m out, and Christian doesn’t give a crap about him. I don’t think Christian even knows the name Winchester. You guys are safe, and hanging out with me won’t change that. He and I have a deal – I’m out and I stay out and he leaves me alone.”

“That’s good to know.” Dean got out of the car. “Come on, let’s get you inside. Hopefully, Dad’ll let us get you settled before he starts the interrogation, but I doubt it.”

Sam opened the door and went to the trunk. “At least I don’t have much to bring in. Upside to losing everything in a fire, I guess.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Dean closed the trunk when Sam had his bag settled. “Your shampoo and toothbrush and stuff are on your bed. Bet you’re looking forward to having a proper shower again.”

“Oh god, yes.”

Dean unlocked the front door and completely failed to be surprised by his father’s presence in the hall. “Hey, Dad. Good to see you. Please, come in, make yourself at home.”

John ignored the sarcasm and focused on Sam. “This him?”

So much for getting Sam settled first. “Dad, this is Sam Campbell. Sam, John Winchester.”

Sam held out a hand, which John ignored in favor of scrutinizing the younger man. “Well, you do look the part, I guess. Bit tall. You gonna tell me you were born Sam Winchester?”

“Sure be a hell of a lot of coincidences if I weren’t.” Sam let his hand drop and moved to stand closer to Dean. “I’m thinking I may go back to it, but I didn’t want to do that without talking to Dean, and I didn’t want to do that until I met you. I’m sure Christian will be all for it.”

“Who the hell’s Christian?” John asked.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Christian Campbell. He’s the current head of the family.”

John folded his arms across his chest, radiating suspicion. “What happened to Samuel?”

“Heart attack, two years ago,” Sam said.

“Bull.” John let his arms dropped and took a step closer to Sam. Dean fought the urge to place himself between the two. “Samuel Campbell didn’t have a heart.”

“Believe me, I was just as surprised as you were to learn there was one in there.” Sam held his ground well, staying calm in the face of John’s paranoia. “The Campbells aren’t all bad people. Grandpa was, and Christian sure as hell is. So I left.”

“You left.” Dean couldn’t blame John for being skeptical. He hadn’t pushed, but he couldn’t believe there wasn’t more to it.

“Yep. I was in college, so I was barely around anyway. When Grandpa died, me and Christian had a chat. He bought me out and took over.”

“Why Christian?”

“Couple reasons. One, Christian was Samuel’s favorite.” Sam met Dean’s eyes briefly, and Dean held back the snicker. “Two, he made me the best offer. In addition to the tidy sum of the buyout, I’m gone. He calls me back in, then I come back in all the way and take over. Downside is I can’t call them for help without going back completely, as a member, not the boss.”

“And you think Christian will keep his end of the deal?” Dean thought so. It was a good one from Christian’s perspective.

Sam shrugged. “Hasn’t bothered me yet. We kind of hated each other anyway, so yeah, I’m pretty sure he’ll leave me alone.”

John nodded and took another step closer, not quite menacing, but definitely threatening. “Sam, I gotta watch out for my boy. Give me one good reason I should give you a chance.”

“Dad.” John and Sam both turned to Dean. “One good reason? How about the fact that he’s your son, too?”

John shook his head, eyes hard. “He’s not. He may have my genetic material, but he was raised by Campbells. And we don’t even know about the genetic material for sure.”

“Fine. He’s my brother.” Dean folded his arms across his chest. It didn’t surprise him that his dad was acting like this. That didn’t make it hurt any less to watch.

“Again…”

“He’s my brother.” Dean shot a half-smile at Sam. “Either that or I need to ask him out.”

Sam blinked, but John barely reacted at all. “He’s a Campbell. That’s good enough reason for you not to.”

“You married a Campbell.” Which, okay, was maybe his father’s point, but he didn’t think it had anything to do with them being related. More likely his father’s point was that the Campbells were evil incarnate. “Dad, I’m twenty-five. I can take care of myself. You taught me how. And I am giving him a chance.”

John shook his head, disappointment written in every line of his face. “I didn’t teach you well enough, then.”

Dean felt like he’d been slapped. He swallowed hard. “Point remains. There’s your one good reason. This is my house, I trust him, so you can either give him a chance or get the hell out. And Dad?” Dean moved to get right in John’s face. “If you walk out that door, walk out on your son again – don’t you ever come back.”

Dean didn’t know what John would do. But it wasn’t a complete surprise when John gave a terse nod and walked out, letting the door slam behind him.

Sam stared at the ground. “You should go after him. I don’t want to cause problems between you and your dad.”

Dean didn’t move. “He’s your dad, too.”

Sam shook his head. “Like he said. He may have contributed genetic material. But this is twice he’s left me, so I don’ t think he deserves for me to think of him as my dad.”

“Fair enough,” Dean had to admit. “He’ll come around in a few weeks. This ain’t our first fight over me not being good enough.” He started up the stairs.

Sam resettled his bag on his shoulder. “Why’d you tell him that you’d ask me out if you didn’t think I was your brother?”

“Because it’s true.” Dean grinned. “I’d wait a while, until it didn’t feel like taking advantage of you being grateful for the rescue and the bed to sleep in, but I totally would.”

“Awkward, but you know I get it.” Sam smiled. “For what it’s worth, I’d say yes.”


	6. Friends are Useful Sometimes.  Others, Not So Much.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam talk to their friends.

Dean sat on his bed at the station, trying to sort through everything. It had been a week since John stormed out, and he was trying to work out if gaining a brother was worth losing his father. So far, the conclusion he’d come to was hell yes.

Benny came to sit beside him. “Hey. Talk to me.”

“You know how I told you Dad took off?” Benny nodded. “It’s been a week. This is gonna be one of the bad ones.”

“I’m sorry. Your dad’s a piece of work, you know?”

“Yeah.” Dean grinned. “The thing is, I don’t even really care all that much. I’m used to not having much family, and this time, I’ve got Sam.”

“Yeah? That’s workin’ out?” Benny nudged Dean. “He what you thought he’d be?”

Dean laughed. “In some ways, yeah, he is. He’s a freaking genius. 4.0 at University of Kansas, prelaw history major with a minor in astronomy, on an intramural soccer team. I didn’t see the soccer part coming, but good at sports? Yeah. In other ways… not so much.”

“Like what?”

It was a risk, but Benny was his best friend. And Benny was usually pretty damn good with the helpful advice. So Dean decided that he'd trust the guy he'd come to see as the closest he'd ever have to a big brother. “Benny, don’t judge me here, and don’t you dare say a word to anyone else or I’ll cut your head off. Understood?”

Benny held up his hands. “I swear. No judgment, not a word.”

Dean nodded. Good enough for him. “Well, I wasn’t expecting the family drama with the Campbells, and somehow my imaginary Sammy was never the snarky little bitch that the real Sam can be. But the one that bugs me: my brother is ridiculously hot.”

“Uh-oh.” Benny was grinning at him, though. “Got a bit of an awkward crush?”

“Yeah. Sam knows about it and he thinks it’s funny, and he’s still spending time with me so I don’t think it bothers him, but it’s weird, and if it doesn’t go away, it might become a problem.” Dean leaned his head back on the pillow. “Any helpful suggestions, Counselor?”

Benny smacked Dean’s arm. “Wish I did, brother. Good luck.”

 

Sam’s intentions were good. He wouldn’t take advantage of Dean’s generosity, once his life had settled down. He had two days before his first final, six more to his last. The next day would be his birthday, and then he’d start looking for his own place. It’s not that living with Dean was bad, or he’d have started looking immediately. He just didn’t want to wear out his welcome.

Dean was on shift at the fire station when Sam finished his last final, so Sam went to Zach and Becky Warren’s house. Jess was staying there, too, until the Warrens headed back to St. Louis.

“Here’s to summer fun!” Zach handed out a round of beer. “Who’s got the biggest plans?”

“You and Becky.” Jess twisted the top off her beer. “My summer plans are working and replacing what I can, finding a new place to live. I figure Sam’s are pretty much the same.”

“You know we’re here to help.” Becky set down the plate of cookies. “At least you guys didn’t lose your computers, so you could study!”

“Screw the computer, I walked away with my life, and Jess and Lori weren’t there so they weren’t hurt.” Sam took a cookie. “Brady still hasn’t turned up?”

“Nope. Even for his finals. I’m worried now.” Becky pulled up a chair and sat down. “Is there any chance he was still in there, that the search and rescue team missed him?”

Sam was already eating himself up with guilt over the prospect. Hearing it said out loud didn’t help any. “I’ll ask Dean, but I doubt it. They’d have found a body, or at least teeth or something, by now.”

Zach grinned and put his feet up on the table. “So what’s Dean like? You really think he’s your brother?”

“Yeah, I do.” Sam took another cookie. “I know this is gonna sound impossible, but I remember things. Feelings, mostly. His car feels like home. I actually like it when he calls me Sammy instead of wanting to hit him. As it turns out, I was baby Sammy when I still had a decent family.”

Becky laughed. “That would explain why you hate it so much, if you’re associating it with a brother you lost.”

Jess groaned. “Oh no. Come on, Becky, it’s summer. Put the psych major away.”

Becky stuck out her tongue at Jess before turning back to Sam. “Gotta ask. Do you think he’s hot?”

Sam groaned. “I’m trying not to, him being my brother and all. He’s not exactly making it easy, though. Please, one of you two come meet him and find him hot so I can hook him up?”

“Not a surprise.” Becky leaned back in her chair and took a swig of beer. “Jess or I even his type?”

Sam spat out the beer he’d just drunk. “Not a… he’s my brother! Isn’t there supposed to be some psych thing that keeps that from happening?”

“Yeah, the Westermarck effect.” Becky grinned. “Thing is, you know how you know who your close relatives are? They’re the people you grew up with. You and Dean didn’t grow up together, so you don’t recognize him as close kin on that level.”

“Huh.” That made Sam feel better at least. He wasn’t that bad a freak.

Jess reached out and patted Sam’s shoulder. “So between the drive to find someone similar and the savior complex, you didn’t have much chance. Good luck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't judge me here, but I actually have Sam's entire college course plan mapped out. I enjoy making fictitious schedules, okay?


	7. Early Birthday Dinner

Dean was there when Sam got home. He looked up from the newspaper when he heard Sam. “Hey! You hungry?”

“Yeah, actually. Why?”

Dean put the paper away and got to his feet. “Thought you might like to go out and celebrate. Finals are over for you, tomorrow’s your birthday. You’ve probably got plans with your friends for your 21st, but I’ve got a few missed birthdays to make up for.”

“Dean, you don’t have to…” Sam shook his head. He knew Dean wouldn’t believe him, but he had to say it. “You’ve already done more than anyone could have asked for me, in the month since you pulled me out of that fire. If you’d known there was even a chance I was still alive, you’d have found me earlier. I know you would’ve. You don’t owe me anything for Dad’s lies and Grandpa’s idiocy keeping you from being there for me.”

“Nah. I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t try to make up for it.” Dean flashed his best smile. “Where do you wanna go?”

Sam gave in. Maybe if he’d grown up with Dean, he’d have been able to resist, but he didn’t have a defense against Dean’s grin. “Somewhere that has good burgers and good salads.”

 

Order in and drinks on the table, Sam started. “I’m doing better, finals are over…”

Dean cut him off. “Sam, you don’t have to. I’m loving having you around. You’re welcome to stay.”

“Even when I’m being a snarky little bitch?” Sam ducked his head to hide the grin.

“Especially then.” Dean lowered his head to catch Sam’s eyes. “You handle it well when I’m being a jerk, you’re fun to be around most of the time, and I missed out on so much of your life already. If you want to leave, I’ll help you find a place, but don’t feel like you need to because you’re taking advantage of me or anything. I would love to have you stay.”

“Okay, but you have to let me help out with bills and food and stuff.” Sam shook his head to cut off Dean’s attempt to protest. “Yes, I’m in college and I have tuition, but I’m fine. The buyout from Christian means I’m basically set for life.”

“Nice. Good for you.” Dean looked stubborn, but Sam was pretty sure he could wear him down.

Time to change topics, then. “Hey, Dean? Jess and I had a couple of other roommates. Lori was gone already, family emergency, but no one’s heard from Brady and he didn’t show for finals. I don’t want to accuse your team of being sloppy or anything like that. I just need to know. Is there any chance…”

“No.” Dean shook his head emphatically. “We’ve gone through the rubble, we’d have found remains if they were there to find. And that fire wasn’t hot enough to destroy bone, let alone teeth. But, uh, you should probably know…” Dean stared at the table. “The fire’s being investigated as arson. I told them about the Campbells, but I didn’t know about the missing roommate. You should probably talk to the police tomorrow. Detective Hendrikson’s the guy in charge. I’ve worked with Vic on a couple other arson cases. He’s good.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “Arson?” That did sound like something the Campbells would have done. Not Christian, or on his orders, but he’d had enemies.

“Yeah. I told them about Dad and his brand of crazy, too, on the longshot that he found out about you and decided to kill you so that I could never stumble across you.” Dean laughed mirthlessly. “If it was him, his plan backfired spectacularly.”

Sam shook his head. “I guess they need to talk to me, huh?”

“Yeah. I’ve done what I can to stall, but Vic’s pretty much out of patience and with finals over, I’m out of excuses. Sorry.”


	8. Brady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam learns how and why the fire happened.

Sam was home alone when the doorbell rang a week later. “Brady?” He hugged his roommate. “Hey, man! Where the hell have you been?”

“Went home for a bit, after the fire. I was messed up, needed the time. Back now, doing summer school to make up for the lost credits.” Brady pushed Sam off of him. “Zach says you’re living with some strange guy you barely know?”

“Zach’s exaggerating.” Sam rolled his eyes and stepped back, inviting Brady in. “His name’s Dean Winchester, and he’s the fireman who saved my life.”

Brady’s eyebrows shot up. “I see. And you’re already living with him? Wow. That’s… not really like you.”

“Maybe not, but he’s an awesome guy. And it’s a bit of a special case.” If you can’t move in with your brother within a month, who can you?

“An awesome guy,” Brady scoffed. “For the whole, what, month you’ve known him?”

“Not exactly.”

Brady smirked. “Wow, Sammy. Good for you.”

Sam slapped him on the back of the head. “Don’t call me Sammy.” He heard the rumble of the Impala and lit up. “He’s almost home. Stick around, I’ll introduce you, you can see for yourself.”

Dean came in quickly. “Hey, Sammy. Vic thinks the cops have something.”

“Awesome.” Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

Brady raised an eyebrow. “Oh, he can call you Sammy?”

“Yeah. Special case, like I said.” Sam smiled at Dean. “Dean, the missing roommate turned up. Meet Brady.”

“Tyson Brady?” Dean went a little stiff, and the look he gave Brady was downright hostile.

“That’s me,” Brady said easily, holding out a hand. “Hi.”

Dean ignored it. “Sam, I need a word with you outside.”

Sam looked at Brady, who didn’t look perturbed at all. “Sure.”

Dean led Sam to the Impala and got inside. Sam rolled his eyes and followed. Some of John’s paranoia training had clearly stuck with Dean. “The cops found links between Tyson Brady and a guy named Isaiah Campbell. Including a huge payment from Isaiah to Brady the day after the fire. Isaiah one of them?”

Sam stared at Dean in disbelief. “Yeah. Yeah, um, I didn’t know Isaiah all that well, I mostly dealt with his brother Mark. Mark was one of the ones who made me an offer after Grandpa died. I’ll give Christian a call, let him know about this. He won’t be happy about how this looks, even if it turns out to be something innocent like Brady cleaning Isaiah’s yard or something. I just… I can’t believe Brady would do that. We’ve been friends since, like, the first week of college.”

“Sorry, kiddo. Can’t imagine going through that kind of betrayal.” Dean patted Sam’s shoulder. “What do you want to do about him turning up?”

“Nothing. No tipping him off. Wouldn’t want him to run again.”

 

Christian was, in fact, very unhappy. He called back the day after Sam’s call. “Got answers for you, Sam. You ready?”

“Yep. Is it what it looks like?”

“Yes, it is.” Sam banged his head against the wall. “Isaiah was pissed that you chose me over Mark. That fire was supposed to kill you. Isaiah gave Brady knockout pills, which he somehow slipped to you.”

“Dammit. I was hoping Brady wasn’t actually… thanks for letting me know, Christian.”

Christian cleared his throat. “Sam, this didn’t come from me, and if I’d known about it I’d have stopped it. You and me have a problem with the deal?”

Sam laughed. “I’m out and happy that way, so unless you have a problem with me calling you to let you know, we’re good.”

“You have any Campbell-related trouble, I want to know about it. Don’t worry about Isaiah, I’ll take care of him. You want me to handle Brady, or let the Lawrence cops have him?”

Sam thought about it. He hated himself for the fact that he wanted to tell Christian to pick up Brady. “Let the cops deal with him. He was my friend, once.”

“If you say so. I’m gonna do some digging, but Mark helped me find the proof, so I don’t think he’s involved. Anything else while we’re talking?”

“Say hi to Gwen for me.” Gwen was Mark’s wife and one of the few Campbells Sam had actually liked. He hung up and went to tell Dean the news.


	9. Sam Needs New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam introduces Dean to his friends, who take things from zero to awkward in less than ten seconds.

That night, Sam brought Dean over to meet his friends. Zach and Becky were heading out of town the next day, since Jess and Lori had found an apartment. “Hey, everyone. Come meet Dean.”

“Holy crap.” Jess stared at Dean, then turned to Sam. “I see the problem. He’s ridiculous!”

“Problem?” Dean looked to Sam for answers.

Sam ducked his head. “They, uh… Becky’s a psych major, she predicted the awkward crush I developed. So, the problem…”

Dean laughed. “Fair enough. I talked to Benny.” He winked at Jess. “Thanks, then. Are you Becky?”

Becky let out a squeal. “It’s mutual? Sam didn’t tell us that part!”

Sam sighed. “No, that’s Becky. This is Jess. That’s Lori over there hanging on Zach.” He glared at Becky. “I didn’t tell you because I’m not spilling someone else’s secrets, and I wouldn’t have told you about my crush if you hadn’t already guessed it.”

“You two would be so cute together.” Lori detached herself from Zach and came over. “You should totally hook up.”

“Except for the part where we’re brothers.” Sam scooted a little bit away from Dean, who looked equally uncomfortable.

Jess looked between them. “You don’t look much alike. Do you actually have any proof?”

“My birth certificate’s out there somewhere, along with the registration of my name change. Grandpa would’ve had both, although he may have destroyed my birth certificate. It would still be on file with the state, though. Anyone who wanted to dig a little could find it.” Sam took another uncomfortable step away from Dean.

Jess laughed. “There you go. Don’t tell people, and no one’s going to go digging.”

“We’d still know,” Dean pointed out.

Zach joined the group. “Yeah, but do you really care? It’d be one thing if you were raised together or there was a risk of babies…”

Becky nodded. “I did some research, and there’ve been cases where siblings who were raised separately met as grownups and fell in love. Even got married before they found out they were siblings. You’re not freaks because of this. Blame your dad for separating you two, but there’s not really anything wrong with it.”

“Okay, so now that we’ve established that all my friends are crazy, even the ones who didn’t take payment to kill me…” Sam shook his head. “Can we please talk about something else? Anything else? How are the Cardinals doing? Rams have a good draft? Doesn’t St Louis have a hockey team? Are they in the playoffs?”

Zach laughed. “Cards went 2-1 against the Phillies, who cares about the Rams, and yes, St. Louis has the Blues, but they lost to the Sharks in the first round. Dean, you follow sports?”

“I don’t really follow it, couldn’t tell you how anyone’s doing, but I like to watch. I kind of grew up all over so my teams are all over the damn place. Dad beat love of the Royals into me for baseball, but football I’m a Cowboys fan, basketball Lakers, and the only pro sports I’ve ever actually been to is a Detroit Red Wings match against the Blackhawks. Red Wings won, so I support them.”

“Literally?” Dean looked at Sam in confusion. “Did Dad literally beat Royals love into you?”

“Oh.” Dean shook his head. “No, not literally. He’s pulled a lot of crap, but child-beating was never part of it.”

“Good. At least one of us escaped that, then. We don’t have homegrown pro sports in Iowa, but Grandpa latched onto whatever Wisconsin teams he could. Therefore I hate the Badgers, the Brewers, the Packers, the Bucks, and the Minnesota Wild since Milwaukee doesn’t have a major-league hockey team. I went to the Minnesota teams just to piss him off, and the Stars for hockey.”

 

“Sorry about them.” Sam leaned his head back as he settled into the Impala. He couldn’t get over just how much the passenger seat felt like somewhere he belonged. Like he was meant to be there. “I have no idea what got into them. Lori’s dad is a preacher, for god’s sake.”

“Really, Sam?”

“What… oh. Wow. That wasn’t intentional.” Sam laughed, letting the exhaustion drag him down into the seat. “The point being.”

Dean guided the Impala onto the main road. “You know, they had some pretty good points themselves.”

Sam sat up, staring at Dean. “You think so?”

“They’re right, no one can actually prove we’re brothers unless they care enough to go digging through state paperwork, and the people who care about us don’t seem to care if we were to hook up.” Dean glanced over at Sam. “Look, I know it’s weird, and it means we’d have to figure out who we are in public. But it’s… my crush ain’t getting any better, and I’ve just plain stopped noticing other people. Your friend Becky, normally I’d have been all over trying to hook up with her. But… nothing.”

“Wow.” Not that it wasn’t the same for Sam. At the coffee shop earlier that day, it wasn’t until Dean pointed it out that he’d realized the girl at the counter had been flirting with him. “It’s a little screwed up, but I was raised by the mob and you were raised on the run from the mob. I don’t think our lives ever had much chance of normal. What about your friends, though? You said you’d told Benny…”

“Benny, Vic, Carmen… they’re not gonna be trouble. Vic’s even a cop, so he can warn us if anyone tries to go to them. But then there’s our families. They gonna be trouble?”

Sam pulled out his phone. “Christian?”

“Sam? This gonna be a habit?”

“Nope. Just letting you know I’m calling in one of my protections. His name’s Dean Winchester, he’s a firefighter, and if a Campbell touches him, I’m coming after you. Get the word out.”

“Family or boyfriend?”

Sam bit his lip. “One of the two. Possibly both. You got a problem with that?”

“And yet you say you’re not a Campbell. I’ll keep the goons away.”

“There we go. Nothing to worry about from the Campbells.” Sam put his phone away. “So that just leaves John Winchester. He doesn’t think I’m his son. But I can see him digging through the paperwork and using it to take me out. Would he accept you as collateral damage?”

“Before the fight, I’d have had to think about it. Now? Yes. He would.” Dean glanced away from the road again. “Take some time and think this through, Sammy? It’s kind of a…”

“Yeah. I’ll let you know when I’ve thought it over.”


	10. Family and Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam meets the rest of Dean's family.

There wasn’t just a whole lot to think over, but Sam wanted to give Dean a chance to think, too. So he waited a couple days. Saturday afternoon, Dean came to find him at the library. “Sam? Got a question for you.”

“Forty-two.” Sam put the Hitchhiker’s Guide aside. “Shoot.”

Dean picked it up with a huge smile. “Great book. Anyway. My friend Ellen Harvelle and her daughter Jo are hosting a barbecue for Mother’s Day, and since Ellen’s the closest I’ve had to a mom since the fire, I go every year. Ellen always says I should bring someone around, so, wanna go?”

“Sure. Sounds like fun.” Sam quickly checked Dean’s clothes. Assuming he wasn’t planning to change, Sam’s jeans and T-shirt should be fine. “How come I haven’t heard anything about these ladies?”

“I’m sure I mentioned them in one story or another, but maybe not. Jo’s in school out in California, and she just got back for the summer. It’s her first year, and Ellen was going crazy with Jo gone, so last month an old friend dragged her up to South Dakota for a vacation. Otherwise I’d have introduced you sooner.”

“Fair enough, then. Sure.”

“One other question, then…” Dean looked around, then leaned forward and spoke very quietly. “What am I introducing you as?”

Sam leaned forward, too. “Your friends, your choice, but I’m okay with either of the possibilities. Or both. However you want to play it.”

“Yeah?” Dean’s face lit up in a giant smile. “Okay. I’m going with brother, because they know how much Sammy means to me, but I may amend that later. Kinda feel them out first.”

 

Ellen Harvelle was exactly what Sam was expecting from the stories Dean told him in the car. No bullshit, no frills, no nonsense, and no hesitation about being introduced to some random stranger. Even before Dean had said a word, Ellen had a hug for him. “Ellen, this is gonna sound a little crazy,” Dean began when the hug ended.

Ellen scoffed. “Crazy? Dean Winchester? Tell me something that don’t happen every time I see you, boy.”

“Fair.” Dean chuckled. “Ellen, this is Sammy.”

“Sammy. Dead baby brother Sammy, or you managed to find a boyfriend who doesn’t mind sharing the name?” Ellen sized up Sam. “Well, I never knew your mama, but he’s got just enough of John in him that I’m gonna guess the first one.”

“I prefer Sam, but yeah, we think I’m the little brother.” That got Sam another hug from Ellen before she started shouting for Jo.

Jo turned out to be a really sweet girl. “Ooh, I like this one, Dean. Way hotter than the last guy you brought around.”

“Not as hot as when I met him. He was practically on fire.” Dean wrapped Jo up and winked at Sam. “Jo, this is my brother Sam.”

“Who was the last guy you brought around?”

Dean rolled his eyes and punched Jo’s shoulder. “Guy named Aaron, we were only dating for a couple weeks so that he could get it into his parents’ heads that yes, he was actually gay, no, it wasn’t a phase. Wasn’t actually into me, I was just the only guy he knew who’d play along.”

“You’re a huge improvement,” Jo informed Sam.

Now Ellen smacked her. “You miss the part where Sam’s his brother? How’s everything going in there, you need help?”

Jo giggled. “Not from you. This is supposed to be a Mother’s Day thing, so you don’t work. Bobby and I have it under control, although if Dean wants to pitch in…” She ran off, heading back to the kitchen.

“Bobby’s here?” Dean’s face lit up and he chased after Jo. Sam followed after a nod from Ellen.

Bobby looked like a walking stereotype of whiskey-soaked redneck, but the warmth in his face when he saw Dean was genuine. “Your daddy gracin’ us with his presence this year?”

“No, Dad’s having one of his paranoid fits and isn’t talking to me because he doesn’t think I take him seriously enough.” Bobby rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment, going back to work on cutting up racks of ribs. “Bobby, this is Sammy. My not-dead-after-all little brother.”

“Little isn’t the right word for him. Hi, Sam. Bobby Singer. I was Dean’s favorite babysitter till your old man and I got into a fight. I’d shake hands, but…” Bobby held up his hands that were covered in barbecue drippings.

“Nice to meet you. From what I’ve seen of John, it doesn’t seem to take much to fight with him.” He turned to Jo. “What else do you need done?”

“Whoa.” Jo held up a hand. “One, you’re a guest. I need help, I’ll draft Dean, but this is your first time here so you get the guest treatment today. You come back, then you’re family. Two, given Dean’s earlier comment, I’m not sure I trust you in the kitchen.”

“Okay, for starters, I was asleep when the fire started, not cooking.” Sam couldn’t help the laugh, though. Dean was smirking too as he started rummaging through the fridge. “And you should probably ask Dean, just to be safe, but I’m pretty sure you can’t set anything on fire carrying cole slaw or potato salad or beer.”

“Doesn’t change the visitor rule. Go. Sit. Talk to Ellen.” Bobby waved a shooing hand at Sam. Sam went back out of the kitchen. It seemed easier than fighting with Bobby and Jo.

By the time the peach cobbler and ice cream had disappeared, Sam was even more pissed at John Winchester for abandoning him. This was the family he’d dreamed of when he was little. Far from being the stereotype he looked, Bobby was brilliant, arguing with Sam about the sociology class he’d just finished about the American people. He was gruff and had a sharp tongue, but it was obvious how much he loved Dean and Jo, like they were actually his own kids. Ellen was everything Sam had always imagined Mary would have been. Jo was an absolute delight, telling her own stories of school at Berkeley, heavily featuring her new best friends Kevin and Charlie.

When cleanup began, Sam and Ellen were once again banished from helping, so the two of them headed outside. Sam pointed out his favorite constellation, Taurus. “Some of the few good memories I have of my grandfather are hanging around outside with a telescope, looking at the stars and hearing the stories.”

“I know John and Dean used to lie out on the hood of that car and look at the stars for hours. Probably wouldn’t be hard to convince Dean to let you.” Ellen leaned against Bobby’s truck with the remains of her beer. “Sam, if I’m out of line here, feel free to hit me or tell me off. You and him… I used to worry about him and Jo, but neither of ‘em has ever looked at the other like that. Like you and him look at each other.”

Sam ducked his head to hide the laugh. “Well, I didn’t know he was my brother when he pulled me out of the fire, it wasn’t until a couple days later, and by then the crush had already gotten a pretty firm hold of me.” He peeked up to judge her reaction, but there wasn’t just a whole lot to go on. “Is that gonna be a problem? I’ve been trying to rein it in, but nothing’s worked yet. I already cost Dean his father, at least for now, I don’t want to cause problems for him with the rest of his family.”

“You didn’t cost Dean his father. John’ll come around in a few months, the fight will never be mentioned, and things will get back to normal between them. Maybe you might get to have some kind of relationship with him, maybe not.” Sam was of the opinion that he didn’t particularly want a relationship with John Winchester. From what he’d seen, John would’ve fit in well with the Campbells. That was no compliment. “As for you and Dean… this family’s based on accepting the lost and broken and giving them a safe place. Bobby had a fight with his wife that may’ve ended up with a divorce, not that Bobby would admit it. Except that some druggie took it out of their hands by killin’ her while invading the house to rob ‘em. My husband…” Ellen laughed bitterly. “My husband went out on a hunting trip in Wyoming with John, and your daddy shot my husband in the head.”

“What?” Sam straightened up, staring at Ellen in horror. He’d heard a lot of bad things about John Winchester, but he’d always taken them with a mountain of salt because they came from Samuel Campbell. But this… his father was a murderer? “Was it…”

Ellen sighed and shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “There was an accident, Bill’d been badly injured and John didn’t think he’d make it even if he got an ambulance out there, this was before the days of cell phones. What I heard from the report, his femoral artery was torn, along with some severe cuts to his arms and neck and face, so John was probably right. He put Bill down like you would a wounded animal.”

“Then why…” Sam couldn’t get his head around this one. “How is it still to where Bobby’s asking if John might show up?”

“If it weren’t for Bobby and Dean, I’d probably never have spoken to him again. But Dean needed what stable influences he could have in his life, and John wasn’t that, so I did the best I could. And with Bobby coming around at least as often as John did, I didn’t need to worry about Jo looking to John to be her surrogate daddy. And it’s been fifteen years, time may not heal all wounds but it’s exhausting to stay angry that long.” Ellen stopped and smiled at Sam. “My point here: we know that family ain’t necessarily anything to do with blood, so no one here’s gonna judge if you and Dean aren’t exactly like normal brothers who were raised together.”

“That’s good to know. Thanks.”


	11. Campbell Flambe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christian calls. Gwen and Mark Campbell were attacked, and Christian needs to talk to at least Sam. Possibly Dean.

On the way home, Dean turned off the radio. Sam looked over at him in surprise. “Ellen says she talked to you about family.”

“She did. I told her limited pieces of the truth. Is that a problem?”

Dean grinned. “Nah. And I called Benny, he’s cool with it, given the circumstances, so the way I see it, the only reason we’ve got not to go for it is Dad.”

“Have you talked to him at all since…?” Sam still felt bad about causing the rift between Dean and his father, although it helped a lot to know that Dean had built himself a new family. A better one. Ellen and Jo and Bobby were amazing people.

Dean shook his head. “Dad’s gone AWOL, it happens sometimes. When I was four no one gave me a choice. Or you. But you’ve already chosen the vague idea of me over the Campbells, and if I’d had any idea you were out there I’d have been searching for you from the time I was old enough, so if Dad shows up and tries to make me choose, I’m choosing you.” He looked over and groaned. Sam hadn’t meant to, but he knew he probably had the dewy puppy eyes his friends always complained about on. “Don’t do that. It’s not like Dad gave me some apple pie normal kid life that I’m giving up for you. I’m willing to give up on a paranoid bastard. Huge difference.”

“Still, he’s your father. For a long time, he was all you had.”

“No, he wasn’t. I had Ellen and Bill, and Bobby, there were a few others. Dad meant more, yeah, but even then, the most important person in my life was my imaginary little brother.” Dean held out a hand, taking Sam’s and squeezing it. “The only way me choosing you over Dad wasn’t inevitable is if Dad didn’t force the issue.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Sammy. The rest of my family loves you. Dad’ll either come around or he won’t. Either way, I want you right here beside me. This just feels right. Like this is what it was always meant to be.”

Sam wanted to keep arguing, but his cell phone rang. He put it on speaker when he saw the caller ID. “Christian?”

“Sam. We need to meet up.”

Sam and Dean exchanged shocked looks. “Why? You turning the reins…”

“I’m hoping you’ll see sense and allow for extenuating circumstances on this one, like we both did when Isaiah tried to kill you. I’m on my way to Topeka. Meet me there. It’s up to you, but you might wanna bring Dean.”

“What the hell, Christian?” Sam was afraid he might break the phone from how tightly his hands had clenched up there. “Christian, I called in protection on him to keep him out of all this shit! Why would I bring him in?”

“Don’t wanna say too much over the phone, but I’ll tell you this much. If what I think’s happening is, he’s already involved. I’m just hoping he’s involved like I was when Isaiah went after you.” Dean shook his head. Sam agreed. Christian must be crazy. “Look, even if you don’t wanna bring Dean, you’ll still probably want to head for Topeka. Gwen’s in the hospital.”

“I’ll be there by morning.” Sam hung up the phone. Dean was looking at him curiously. “Gwen Campbell – maiden and married name – is one of the few I liked. And if she’s in the hospital instead of under the care of the Campbell family medics, that means it’s bad. You don’t have to come. I can borrow Zach’s car, he’s not using it.”

Dean shook his head emphatically. “Do you want me to come? I want to be there for you, and I really want to know how I’m supposed to be involved in this, but if you’d rather I not… drop me off at home and you can take the Impala.”

“You don’t have work?” But Sam was grateful for the offer. He’d never had someone he could trust at his back when he went to deal with Campbells.

“Not tomorrow, and it’s a 40 minute drive if the traffic is awful. That’s close enough I can get back if I need to. Call Benny and he’ll come get me.”

Sam nodded. “Thanks, then. For what it’s worth, I don’t care what Christian’s talking about, I can’t imagine you’re involved in this.” Sam called Christian back to find out which hospital Gwen was at, and Christian gave him directions. They were parked and in the lobby forty-five minutes later, Christian and his wife Arlene coming toward them. “Brace yourself,” Sam whispered to Dean. “Christian is the smuggest, smarmiest SOB you’ll ever meet, and Arlene is the kind of woman who married him, on purpose, before the buyout was even a gleam in Christian’s brain.”

“Samurai!” Christian hugged Sam, and Sam unenthusiastically returned the embrace. “This your friend?”

“Christian, meet Dean Winchester. Dean, my cousin Christian Campbell, and his wife Arlene. Where’s Mark?”

Christian shrugged as he shook Dean’s hand. “In the bed next to Gwen’s. That soulless bastard threw gasoline on them both and then lit ‘em up. They’re both up in the burn ward trying not to die before they can get some payback.”

“Who?” Sam was starting to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, and a quick glance at Dean made him suspect Dean felt it too.

“Not here. Come on.” Christian started for the lobby door, then stopped. “Samurai, you know if I take your boy with us and it turns out he’s…”

“I trust him, Christian. Whatever’s going on, he has nothing to do with it. He’s a firefighter, for god’s sake, he rescues people from fires! Not sets them on fire.” Dean’s snickering wasn’t really helping the case, and Sam shot him a glare.

On the way, Dean had to ask. “Samurai?”

“Samuel made him stop calling me Sammy when I was, like, two. I’d burst into tears every time I heard it. Christian had to find a new way to annoy me, and for whatever reason, Samurai stuck.” Sam shrugged. “Samuel thought it sounded badass, at least it wasn’t Sammy, and Christian just never got over it.”

At Mark and Gwen’s house, Christian took a seat like he owned the place, sending Arlene into the kitchen to find some drinks and snacks. “Okay. Mark and Gwen were having some kind of romantic date in the park, I don’t know, when Gwen turns around to find this guy with a gun on her. He called them Campbell scum and said they’d survive this, because he wanted Samuel to know he was coming for him.”

“Samuel’s dead.”

Christian rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I noticed. Gwen told him that. He said we needed to come up with a better story than a heart attack taking out the heartless bastard. Gwen told him to go to Hell, so the guy set her and Mark on fire. Not sure what happened after that.”

“How do you even know this much?” Dean demanded.

“Because Mark had his phone on and sending everything to me.” Christian played the voice mail, and there was no doubt anymore. It was John Winchester’s voice.


	12. Investigation: Attack on Mark and Gwen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christian takes the brothers to Mark and Gwen's house to investigate the attack.

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” Dean said. He looked up at Sam. “I swear, I had nothing to do with this.”

Sam laughed. “I’m a little insulted here, Dean. I’d have to be a really paranoid jackass to think you and John were working together on this when you haven’t spoken to him since he walked out on you when you insisted on giving me a chance.”

Christian cleared his throat. “That’s… not entirely true, Samurai.”

It felt like the room had gotten about twenty degrees colder as Sam turned to meet Christian’s eyes. “What?” He looked to Dean, fighting back the tears. Dean would be able to explain. There had to be a good reason.

Dean cleared his throat. “Sammy, I haven’t spoken to Dad. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t spoken to me. He’s left me some voicemails. I didn’t tell you about them because, honestly, I thought he was just crazy. He said he was going after Samuel, that Samuel had gone too far using you to get to me, and he’d show me that you weren’t who I thought you were.”

Sam swallowed hard. “I am exactly who you think I am.”

Dean reached out and took Sam’s hands. “I know that. Even if, somehow, you aren’t, I know you’re not pretending to be to hurt me. And you say Samuel’s dead and Christian’s in charge and doesn’t give a crap about me or Dad? Well, now he does, thanks to Dad being a paranoid asshat, but until Dad went and started shit, he didn’t. Good enough for me. One reason I ignored Dad.”

“But now people are hurt.” Admittedly, Sam probably wouldn’t have called Christian to tell him about this. Dean had even more reason to protect John over protecting Campbells. How John knew to go after Gwen, Sam didn’t know. Maybe it was random and John just got lucky. Or unlucky.

Dean sighed, but he gave Sam’s hands a squeeze. “I know. Dad’s gotta be stopped.” He turned to Christian. “If you want my help, you’ve got it. I love my dad, but he’s hurting people, and I don’t care what Mark or Gwen did for Samuel or have done for you, no one deserves to be burned alive like that.”

Christian’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay. Samurai, you did good.” He stood up and clapped his hands. “Let’s have a look around, see if John went through anything or took anything.”

As it turned out, something was missing. Christian laughed when he realized what it was. “Think he’s investigating you, Samurai! He took the work that Mark had been doing with Isaiah, figuring out what went wrong with him. Probably some cash, since I can’t find the stash Mark and Gwen should have had, and a bracelet Gwen had that used to be your mom’s before she married out of the family and walked.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Dean said. “You know she married John Winchester, right? Dad would want Mom’s bracelet.”

“Mom… wait, Dean’s your _brother_?” Christian looked between the two before bursting into laughter. “Nice one, Samurai.”

“Shut up, Christian.”

“If Gwen dies, you can keep the bracelet if you get it back from John.” Christian turned back to the computer. “Your daddy sucks with computers, you know.”

“Here, I got this.” Sam shoved Christian aside and started digging through files, guessing passwords. “Mark has _security cameras_ here?”

Christian shrugged. “He’s a Campbell. If someone fucks with us, we want to know about it.”

Sam just shook his head. This was slightly ridiculous, even by Campbell standards. “Okay. What time was the call you got?”

Christian checked his phone. “6:42.”

Sam loaded up the footage starting at five o’clock. He fastforwarded until John showed up to search the place at almost seven. He took his time, going through everything. Made sense. Not like Mark or Gwen was going to show up to interrupt him, and they didn’t have kids. He finally left around 9:30, with the file folder, the bracelet, and several wads of cash that he’d shoved into jacket pockets as he worked. “We have any idea where he might have gone? Any other Campbells live in the area?”

“Isaiah. I’ve already picked him up, he’s with Barty and Esther now. He doesn’t know anything, and he is terrified. Mark did a good job of explaining to him why you don’t mess with Campbells.” Christian chuckled. “Funny thing is you’d think he’d know that, being one.”

“What’s gonna happen to Dad when you pick him up?” Dean asked quietly.

Christian shrugged. “Depends when we get him, how much other havoc he causes. How helpful you and Samurai are in picking him up. He’s your father, you want to take responsibility for him, I don’t have a problem with that right now. Mark or Gwen dies, or he kills someone else, well… blood demands blood. Campbell family directive.”

“Dean, would he come after you at this point?” Sam asked. “If he knows you’re here, knows you’re helping me, helping Christian…”

“I don’t know. Probably. If he’s going after Campbells instead of running, then he’s probably given up on me. I asked him one time why he was teaching me not to run from bullies, to turn around and fight, but we were on the run from whatever it was in his head he was so scared of. He said they were just too strong, and there was too much to lose. That when I was old enough, I’d be able to tell the difference.” Sam went to Dean and wrapped his arms around his brother. “So either he thinks without Samuel, the Campbells are weak enough to take on, or he figures he’s already lost me so he doesn’t have anything else to lose by going after them.”

“Touching, but guys?” Arlene looked up from the computer. “You probably want to see this.”

Sam went over, Dean right beside him. “What’s he doing?” John Winchester had come back to the house around 10:30.

“Laid a trap for Campbell spiders.” Everyone turned to the bedroom door. John Winchester was standing there with a shotgun pointed at Sam. “Let’s chat.”


	13. Campbell vs Winchester

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christian and John point guns at each other. Sam and Dean try to figure out where to stand.

“Dad?” Dean took a step toward his father, hands raised in front of him in a gesture of peace. “Dad, what are you doing here?”

John gestured with the gun. “If you won’t give up on this guy being your Sammy, then the only other way to protect you is to take out Samuel Campbell. Either it’ll make him show his true colors, or there won’t be a Campbell clan left for him to drag you into.”

“Or these are my true colors. I’m not lying to Dean, John.”

John waved him off. “Of course, on the off chance that he is who he says he is, not just inhabiting the body but somehow your Sammy survived Campbell boot camp… that means that Isaiah Campbell tried to kill my son. Isaiah didn’t have a son for me to go after, but he had a brother.”

“Had?” Christian said, voice cold and quiet.

“Had.” John swung the shotgun to Christian as Christian went for his gun. “Sammy lived, so Mark gets to assuming you didn’t hand him to incompetent medics. Isaiah, not so much.”

“You know I can’t let this stand. Isaiah may have been in disgrace, but he was one of mine. He was family.” Christian drew his gun and held it on John. “You want to see who can fire first, Johnboy?”

Sam looked to Dean for the cue. On the one hand, John had crossed a line, killing Isaiah. Hurting Mark and Gwen. Someone needed to take John down. But on the other hand, John was Dean’s dad. Dean showed the same conflict all over his face.

John’s glower didn’t falter in the slightest at the sight of Christian’s gun. “Maybe you don’t know this. I’m family, too. Sammy there is my blood, and if Samuel’s really dead, then Sammy’s the one who should be in charge.”

“Samuel’s dead. You think he sends a flunky, even me, to protect his people?” Christian wasn’t backing down, either. “Samurai didn’t want the job. He sold it to me. He’s still one of mine, still blood, but he’s out of the family. Mary’s dead. So unless Sam’s going to waste his protection on you, I got no reason not to kill you.” Dean shook his head at Sam. Sam shook his head back. “And see, if you wanted Samurai to step up, you made a mistake. He wouldn’t lose sleep over Isaiah, won’t shed a tear for Mark, but he liked Gwen.”

“Mark didn’t deserve what you did to him, John. And Isaiah, maybe he did, but that’s not our call. One of the reasons I left the Campbells is because I don’t like Campbell justice. From what Dean’s told me about you, though, and your own actions… not seeing how your brand of justice is any better. The Campbells, at least, don’t go after bystanders. You pay for your own crimes, not the crimes of your family. I could let you and Christian kill each other without blinking an eye, but if Christian dies, I got no idea who takes over. I hate Christian’s guts, but I trust him to keep his word. There are a lot worse choices for me.”

“Aw, I hate you too, Samurai.” Christian blew a kiss at Sam. “What’s the call?”

“I know there’s Campbells who want me dead for leaving, or for not picking their choice as my replacement. Isaiah, for one. Only reason Jeremiah hasn’t come after me is he still remembers what Samuel did to his daddy when he was finally able to prove Freddy set the fire that killed Mom.” Sam huffed. “Makes what you did to Mark and Gwen look like a spa date.”

“Mary was killed?” John’s gun wavered a little. “Samuel had proof that Mary was killed?”

“Yeah.” Christian looked to Dean, and Sam went to stand beside his brother. “When Mary left, Samuel started giving me more responsibility. Freddy hated that. He liked me about as much as Samurai does. So once I’d married Arlene, he went after your family. He meant to kill you, force Mary to return to the family. The boys were acceptable collateral damage, but the plan never involved killing them. But that got messed up when Mary caught him in the house. He panicked, shot her, and set the fire to cover his tracks.”

“Samuel got the whole story out of him through torture. I don’t know how much of it was real and how much was Freddy trying to get Samuel to just kill him already. I saw the evidence, though, and enough of it’s true that I…” Sam ducked his head. He’d never meant for Dean to know this part, and he couldn’t look Dean in the eyes when he admitted to not being clean. “I didn’t hesitate when Samuel gave me the gun and told me where to aim.”

“You killed the bastard who killed our mom?” Sam peeked up, and Dean was staring at him in shock. “Sammy, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“I killed a man, Dean. Freddy was a jackass who killed my mother and nearly killed me, did a lot of bad things for the family, but he was still human and deserved real justice, not Campbell justice. I didn’t hesitate at the time, but later, trying to get the GSR off my hands…” Sam shuddered. “That was when I ran to Flagstaff. That was when I knew I had to get out. First time I approached Christian about buying me out was when Samuel dragged me back home.”

“So you were what, sixteen? Sammy, it’s not…”

“Don’t tell me it’s not my fault. I could have said no.”

“And then what? What would’ve happened to Freddy then?”

Sam shook his head. Dean didn’t get it. “Samuel would’ve shot him and put me through hell trying to ‘toughen me up’. It’s not Freddy that has me still losing sleep over it. I couldn’t have saved him. But I could have saved myself. Whatever Samuel put me through, I wouldn’t be a murderer. That’s something I can’t ever fix, Dean! How do I make up for that?” The tears started flowing. “How can I claim to be any better than the Campbells, or John? I killed a man for revenge and to spare myself some discomfort.” Dean reached out, trying to pull Sam into a hug, but Sam ducked back. “And you… you’re a freaking hero. You put your life on the line to save people. You’re even better than the imaginary Dean I invented as a kid, protecting me from Samuel and the rest. I bet your imaginary Sammy wouldn’t have killed anyone, ever.”

“You ask why you’re better?” Dean pointed at Christian and John. “Both those guys have killed people for a lot less than the provocation you had. And here they are, ready to kill again, no hesitation, no lost sleep. You killed a guy who was dead anyway to protect yourself? You didn’t have anyone else to protect you! You needed it so bad you invented an older brother, but there wasn’t anyone! You may not be risking your life running toward burning buildings, but there are lots of ways to help people. You told me you want to be a DA, to help protect innocent people from the scum who prey on them. Did you read comic books growing up?”

“Of course I did.”

“You think Batman’s less of a hero than Superman because he works in the shadows, is more comfortable with the darkness?”

“Well, no, but…”

“You’re Batman. Can I hug you now?” Sam bit his lip, but it didn’t stop the laugh from escaping. Dean was just plain ridiculous. But he held up his arms, and Dean came over to hug him.

Christian cleared his throat. “Touching. But we still have the problem of what to do with John Winchester.”

Sam picked his face up from where it was buried in Dean’s shoulder, and looked John straight in the eyes. “You gonna stand down, leave the Campbells alone, leave me alone?”

“You care enough about the Campbells to make that a condition?” Christian asked.

Sam laughed. “Mostly, no. But if he doesn’t leave the Campbells alone you’re just gonna shoot him anyway, and if he manages to pick one of the others I actually give a shit about… so might as well at least see.”

“The Campbells gonna leave you and Dean alone?” John countered.

Christian held up a hand and put the other one on an imaginary Bible. “Sam’s off-limits by the deal him and I made, and Dean’s under Sam’s protection. Any Campbell messes with either of them, they will regret that day.”

“I’ll leave the Campbells alone. But Dean’s my son.”

“Good enough. Christian, let him go, this time. He causes problems again, take him out, but this one’s… let’s give him a chance.”

Christian nodded. “Well? You heard the kid. Get your ass out of here, and I catch you around a Campbell again, you’re a dead man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (7/1) If you saw anything about Chapter 14: I accidentally added a chapter from another fic to this one. I took it down as soon as I realized. There *is* another chapter coming for this Soon, but that wasn't supposed to be it. XD


	14. Winchesters

Sam and Dean followed John outside. “Dad, I know you mean well, but Sammy’s gonna be a part of my life for the rest of my life. So you need to figure out if you can deal with that.”

John put the shotgun in the rack hidden in the truck bed. He turned and gave Sam another long, appraising look. “Sammy, last time we met, I said some things. Some of them I still mean. You hurt my boy, Christian or no Christian I will hunt you down and put as many bullets in you as I think are necessary. Others…” He shook his head and clapped a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “I should have known that if there’s one thing I should have trusted Dean’s instincts over my own on, it was you. When you were a baby, I made the choice I had to. You grew up with Samuel Campbell. You gotta understand why I wanted to save Dean if I could.”

Sam bit his lip. He did understand that one. “I can’t promise anything, John. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see you as my dad. But you’re Dean’s dad, and that’s important to him, which means it’s important to me.”

“Fair.” John held out his free hand, and Sam shook it. “Call me if either of you needs anything. I’m gonna go figure out what to do with my life now that fear of the Campbells isn’t in charge anymore.”

Once John was gone, the boys headed for the Impala. “Thanks for saving him, Sammy. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you hadn’t, but…”

“There’s enough blood on my hands because of the family drama. I didn’t do it for you. I didn’t do it for him. I did it because I don’t want to live with knowing that I let my father die, whether I have a relationship with him or not.”

Dean put his hands on Sam’s shoulders. “I meant what I said in there, Sam. Honestly, seeing what the Campbells are like? The crap I saw in Mark’s house, and you say he’s one of the relatively good ones? I’m in awe you made it out with only killing one guy, and that about as justifiably as it gets.”

“I’m a murderer, but I only did it a little?”

Dean smacked Sam on the back of the head. “Shut up. You did what you had to to survive an abusive situation. Nothing’s changed.”

“Even with John…”

“Even with.” Dean leaned forward, pressing his lips to Sam’s. “Let’s go home, huh? Seems to me you mentioned something about starting serious studying for your test next month?”

“Yeah. Kind of important. But if you want to distract me every once in a while, I’m not gonna complain. Not if you’re gonna do it like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know, it's short. Sorry.


	15. New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weeks after the drama, Dean and Sam's lives have settled down. It's nice to be worrying about forgetting someone's birthday and LSAT scores instead of people trying to kill you.

The LSAT was over. Classes didn’t start until the end of August. Dean had convinced him that he might as well wait until he saw what he made on this one to start studying for October’s LSAT. Two months of nothing to do stretched in front of Sam.

He made the mistake of mentioning that to Ellen, who immediately put him to work doing all kinds of repairs and errands for her. Not that Sam was complaining. He loved being part of the family. He brought Jess with him one time when he needed an extra pair of hands, and she and Jo took an immediate liking to each other.

June 27th started out like a normal day. Sam woke up early, conditioning from college and Campbells, and went for a run, stopping twice to play with dogs in the park. When he got back, Jess and Jo were waiting. “Hey! I forget we had plans, or does Ellen need me?”

Jess jumped up and gave Sam a hug. “Neither. It’s Jo’s birthday, so we’re going shopping, and it occurred to us that Dean probably forgot to tell you.”

“Happy birthday, Jo. Give me a few minutes to shower and change, and I’ll go with you.” Sam went inside, and when he came back out, he saw the girls staring down the street. He looked in the direction and saw the black truck parked three houses down. “Oh, shit.”

John got out of the truck and came over to them. “Hello, Sam. Where’s Dean?”

“At work. Why are you here?” They hadn’t seen John since the showdown with Christian, and while Dean had talked to him a couple times, Sam hadn’t.

“Sam? Who is this guy?” Jess whispered.

John ignored both questions, holding out a wrapped box to Jo. “Jo, I don’t know if you remember me, you were just a little girl when we last saw each other. I used to be a friend of your dad’s. Happy birthday.”

Jo took the present with a baffled expression. “Who… John Winchester? Are you John?” John nodded. “No wonder you’re here instead of dropping this off with Mom.”

“She blames me for your dad’s death, and she’s right to. If it hadn’t been the hunting trip, I’d probably have gotten him killed some other time, some other way. I can’t ever make up for that, but if it’s not too late, I’d like to try to rebuild some of the bridges I burned back then.”

“You’ll have to talk to Mom if you want to rebuild that bridge.” Jo looked hesitantly at the present before sliding a finger into a seam and pulling up the tape. Inside, there was a book and a necklace. She looked at the cover of the book, but there was no title or author, so she opened it. “You had Dad’s journal all this time?”

John nodded. “I tried to give it to your mother when I told her about your dad, but she wouldn’t take it, then. He’d always meant to give it to you when you were eighteen. I’m a little off, I know, but better a couple years late than never, right?”

“Yeah… wow. Thank you.”

John looked over to Sam. “Tell Dean I’m in town, will you?”

“Uh… yeah, sure. He have your phone number?”

“He should. Hasn’t changed since the last time I gave it to him.” John headed back to his truck.

Shopping with Jess and Jo was an adventure. It was also exhausting. He’d been out shopping with Jess a lot, but he hadn’t realized how adding Jo would amplify everything. About 2, his phone rang. “Hello?”

“Sammy! Where are you? Doing something fun without me?”

“I'm at the mall with Jess and Jo because they needed a pack moose. Does that count?”

“Shit! I completely forgot to warn you about Jo’s birthday. In all fairness, it’s because I forgot all about it myself. Think you can stealth-buy her a present from me and I’ll pay you back?”

Sam grinned. Dean was ridiculous. “I can try. Suggestions?”

“I usually get her something pony-themed. She’s not as obsessed now as she was back in middle school, but she still loves ponies. Or pretends she does when I get her pony stuff, anyway, and since she’s not supposed to know I forgot…”

Jo knew already, but Sam decided not to say anything. Jo probably wouldn't either. “Okay. Hey, John's in town, he wants you to call him.”

“Dad give you his new number?”

“No, said it was the same as last time.”

“That’s bull. He changes phone numbers every three months.”

“I think he’s trying to live a less paranoid life. Still parked three houses down, though.”

Dean laughed. “We’ll see how long this lasts, but it’s good to hear him trying. Oh, hey, you got some mail.”

“I get mail all the time, dude.”

“Not from the testing people.”

Sam froze. LSAT scores. His whole future, in an envelope. “Did you open it?”

“Of course not! Tampering with mail is a federal offense!” Sam just waited in silence. “Yeah. I opened it. What’s passing?”

“I… it doesn’t quite work like that, it’s not a pass-fail thing. The better your score, the better your chance of getting into law school. It’s like the SAT or ACT. The one you take at the end of law school is the one that’s pass-fail.”

“Okay, what score would you consider passing? Like, to where you decide not to take the October test?”

“Just tell me what I got, asshole.”

“Well, it’s got three digits. Is that good?”

Sam squeezed his eyes closed, fighting back the urge to reach through the phone and strangle Dean. “That depends what they are. If you don’t give me the middle digit, I’m gonna give you the middle digit next time you want me to blow you.”

“Nice one, Sammy! Okay. Seven.”

“Middle digit, not last digit,” Sam said.

“That is the middle digit! You got a 174. Is that good?”

“Dean, quit fucking with me. 147?”

“174. Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because a perfect score is 180!”

“Holy shit, dude. Congratulations.”

“You’re really not making this up?”

“I’m really not. You’re gonna see the paper when you get home, so unless you think I’d get THAT invested in a practical joke that I’d research what LSAT score reports look like and go to the trouble of making a fake one…”

Sam laughed. Dean was devoted to his pranks, but not that devoted. “No, you’d get Benny or Victor to do it.”

“This isn’t fake, Sammy.”

“Wow. I… yeah, I’m not taking the October test. Holy shit.”

“Between a good test score and a perfect GPA, you’re probably gonna be picking what law school you go to instead of going with whoever takes you, right?”

“I might even get a scholarship.” He didn't need one, necessarily, thanks to the buyout, but if he got one, that was a lot of money he could put into charity and being able to work for free for people who couldn't afford paid counsel.

“Good for you. No slacking off your senior year, understand?”

“Dean, have you seen my schedule for next fall? I don’t think that qualifies as slacking off.” Honors classes, high-level history of law, maxed out on hours. Not slacking off.

“No, I haven’t. Anyway, I better call Dad. See you for dinner?”

“Ellen’s cooking, Jo said to remind you to show up at six.”

“I’m wounded by her lack of faith in me.”

“Considering you actually did forget, I think she has a point.”

“Traitor. Love you, Sammy.”

“Love you too, Dean.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, in canon Jo's birthday is in April. We're already AU, so I moved it. ;)
> 
> Thanks for coming with me on this ride! Hope y'all enjoyed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are the fluffiest marshmallows! Just the thing to bring to a fire!


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